The present invention relates to an improved method of producing amines from alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and mixtures thereof. In one aspect, the invention relates to an ammonolytic method while in another aspect it relates to a catalyst useful therein.
The amination of alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones using catalysts containing nickel, copper or both is known. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,153,581; 4,409,399; 4,152,353 and the patents cited therein. Habermann, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,581, discloses a method of preparing amines using a catalyst comprising from about 20 to about 90 percent cobalt, from about 8 to about 72 percent copper, and from about 1 to about 16 percent of a third component selected from the group consisting of iron, zinc, zirconium and mixtures thereof. The catalyst of U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,581 must be at least 20 percent cobalt, a relatively expensive metal. It would be desirable, for practical reasons, to provide a catalyst for the amination of alcohols, etc., which would have equal or superior activity at lower cost.